If you think the Ravens don’t pay attention to predictions, you’d be wrong.

Teams love to use this kind of stuff for bulletin board material as motivation. Flacco said Head Coach John Harbaugh has already showed the team some analysts’ picks for the Bengals to beat the Ravens.

“What are you going to do?” Flacco asked.

“How many times have people actually picked the Ravens?” the quarterback asked, causing the radio hosts to laugh.

Not many, Joe.

I’m hard-pressed to find someone pick the Ravens among the infinite predictions on the Web.

Here’s a prediction from yesterday with CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco predicting the Ravens finishing third (10-6) in the division, with – surprise – the Bengals (12-4) winning it and the Steelers (11-5) coming in second. ESPN’s Mark Schlereth doesn’t think the Ravens will make the playoffs. Here’s another one predicting the Bengals. And another. And another. And another.

You get the idea.

Over/Under On Flacco Stats Line

Flacco has never thrown for 4,000 yards in a single season. He’s never thrown more than 25 touchdowns. He’s never thrown less than 10 interceptions.

Can he improve on all of those marks coming off a superb playoff run, Super Bowl MVP performance and a record-breaking contract?

“Frank, these numbers are very attainable,” the AFC North blogger wrote. “I think the INTs could be more in the 10-to-12 range. The number that Flacco really needs improvement, and one that no one talks about, is completion percentage. He should be over 65 percent. Last year, he was 59.7 percent.”

What do you think about Frank’s proposed stats? Over or under?

Troy Smith Signs With Montreal Alouettes

Troy Smith hasn’t given up on his football career.

The former Ravens backup quarterback and 2007 fifth-round draft pick signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League.

Smith’s NFL career lasted four seasons: three in Baltimore and brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The former Heisman Trophy winner threw for 1,734 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions for a 78.5 passer rating during his NFL career. He’s also played for the Omaha Nighthawks in the UFL.

His new team indicated he may be one of the backups.

“We’ve been in discussions together for well over three months and have been patiently waiting for Troy to finish his commitments at Ohio State,” Alouettes General Manager Jim Popp said. “We’ll have to fast track Troy in order to get him over the learning curve of the CFL and caught up to speed over the next several weeks. He’s here to learn and grasp the game for future competition.”

That number will be reduced when the 53-man regular-season roster is set, which is when the offseason rule of the top 51 salaries only counting against the cap will no longer be in effect.

One of the highest salary-cap figures on the team belongs to linebacker Jameel McClain ($4.2 million), who is on the physically unable to perform list after sustaining a spinal cord contusion. He has yet to be cleared for football contact, and at this point that clearance doesn’t appear to be coming any time soon.

Asked if McClain could get released, Hensley responded: “There's a chance if the Ravens need the cap room.”

Brady Injury Almost Changes Entire AFC Landscape (Video)

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looked to have a scary knee injury during New England’s practice yesterday.

A fan capturedthe moment in the video below. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Adrian Clayborne pushed Patriots tackle Nate Solder into Brady during a team scrimmage, and Brady fell to the ground clutching his knee.

Had Brady gone down for the entire season – or even part of it – as was once feared, it would have drastically changed the AFC landscape and the Ravens’ chances for returning to the playoffs.

The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable team in the NFL at $2.3 billion.

The Ravens are the most valuable of the four AFC North teams: Steelers No. 14 ($1.1 billion), Browns No. 22 ($1 billion) and Bengals No. 27 ($924 million).

Quick Hits

Flacco on what he sees in the Ravens’ new-look defense: “I’ll tell you what man, our defense looks really good. The front seven, those guys look like they can be dominant. And our secondary, you can argue that it is better than it’s ever been with the corners that we have, the depth that we have. … I think we have a pretty special group and it’s going to be exciting watching those guys get after it this year.” [ESPN]

Flacco on 37-year-old Stokley’s speed: “Brandon, especially for being in the league as long as he has, he can still run and his legs still look fresh. I’m definitely excited about it.” [ESPN]

Please Note

The opinions, analysis and/or speculation expressed on BaltimoreRavens.com represent those of individual authors, and unless quoted or clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of the Baltimore Ravens' organization, front office staff, coaches and executives. Authors' views are formulated independently from any inside knowledge and/or conversations with Ravens officials, including the coaches and scouts, unless otherwise noted.